Finland’s Fight for Survival: 1939–1945 – North Calotte #26

A short history of how Finland played a bad hand in a difficult situation during WW II. Finland’s Fight for Survival: 1939–1945 – North Calotte #26 (Arctic Europe, Finland) Link to the song at the end, Karjalan kunnailla:    • Karjalan kunnailla (1965 versio)   Hitler and Stalin made a deal. They divided Europe between them with the Baltic states and Finland falling into Russia’s sphere of interest. Hitler wanted to invade Russia together with Poland, but Poland said no. Stalin wanted to invade Germany together with Poland, but Poland also said no to that. In September 1939, World War II began with Germany and Russia jointly invading Poland. Finland’s neutrality, of course, meant nothing.The Russian Foreign Minister had told the other Nordic countries, quote: “to stick to their beloved neutrality and not interfere with what happens between Finland and Russia.” In mid-November 1939, Russian newspapers launched a media campaign against Finland, and on November 30, Russia attacked.That evening, Soviet Foreign Minister Molotov went on the radio to announce that the Red Army had been tasked with securing Russia’s external security. The invasion had been planned as an easy campaign — Russian troops had even brought along military bands, parade uniforms, and pre-written victory speeches.Much of this echoes what happened when Russia attacked Ukraine in 2022. Russia’s attack on Finland led to its expulsion from the League of Nations, and member states were encouraged to offer aid to Finland. In the Winter War, Russia had a total force of one million men, 3,000 tanks, and 3,800 aircraft. Finland, in contrast, had 340,000 troops, only 32 tanks, and 114 aircraft.But at first, Russia struggled badly. The Finnish forces put up fierce resistance, and Russian losses were five times higher than those of the Finns. Russia temporarily halted operations, reconsidered its strategy, and in February 1940 launched a major offensive in the south that Finland struggled to withstand. On some fronts, the Russians had between 50–100 artillery pieces per kilometer.Finland’s total use of artillery ammunition during the entire war matched what Russia fired in just two days. On March 12, Finland signed a peace treaty with Russia, losing 12% of its territory. Although no nation came to Finland’s defense, over 11,000 volunteers from 28 countries— mainly Sweden and Norway — fought on Finland’s side. Whereas Finnish politics during the interwar period had been characterized by deep right-left divisions, the Winter War unified the nation around a centrist position in foreign policy and defense. At this time, Finland was surrounded, by the German military to the west after Germany invaded Denmark and Norway, and by Russia to the east and south after Russia invaded the Baltic countries.There were fears that Finland would become a battlefield between the two armies unless Finland chose to side with the Germans.At that time, Sweden allowed German troops and supplies to pass through its territory. Finland allowed German forces to use its territory both for transit and as a base for refuelling airplanes after attacks against Russia, but Finland was always careful to emphasize that it was not a party to the war itself.Even when Russia shelled Finnish positions following Germany’s June 22, 1941 invasion of Russia, Finland initially held back.But after Russia bombed Helsinki and several other cities by 500 aircraft three days later, Finland felt that it had no choice but to declare war, and launched ground attacks together with Germany. In this second war against Russia, Finland quickly recaptured the territory it had lost in the Winter War — and more.By December 1941, Finland’s advances had reached far beyond its pre-1939 borders.The front lines then stabilized for two and a half years until June 1944, when Russia launched a major offensive, leading to a peace agreement on September 4. The peace agreement required Finland to sever ties with Germany and expel German troops from its territory.When this didn’t happen quickly enough, Finland was forced to take military action against retreating German forces — who, in turn, carried out a scorched earth campaign in Lapland, destroying much of the region’s infrastructure. Besides moving the border back to where it had been after the Winter War, Finland also lost the Petsamo region in the far north, between Norway and Russia. #WinterWar #Finland #Documentar #MilitaryHistory #WWII #History #FinnishHistory #WinterWar #NorthCalotte #ArcticEurope #LaplandWary #PetriStorlöpare